1993 British Grand Prix
11 July |officialname = XLVI Foster's British Grand Prix |circuit = Silverstone Circuit |location = Silverstone, Northamptonshire, UK |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 5.226 |laps = 59 |distance = 308.334 |pole = Alain Prost |polenation = FRA |poleteam = |poletime = 1:19.006 |fastestlap = 1:22.515 |fastestlapdriver = Damon Hill |fastestlapnation = GBR |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 41 |winner = Alain Prost |winnernation = FRA |winnerteam = |second = Michael Schumacher |secondnation = GER |secondteam = |third = Riccardo Patrese |thirdnation = ITA |thirdteam = }} The XLVI Foster's British Grand Prix, otherwise known as the 1993 British Grand Prix, was the ninth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK, on the 11 July 1993.'British GP, 1993', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr541.html, (Accessed 28/07/2019) The race would see Alain Prost claim a record 50th career victory, having hunted down race leading teammate Damon Hill after a poor start. Pre-race news focused on changes at and , the former having taken on Pierluigi Martini, while the latter introduced their new car, built around their engines. There was also some fallout between and their engine suppliers , who would cancel plans to introduce an updated engine on the eve of the race weekend. Prost's weekend had started perfectly, sweeping to pole position ahead of counterpart during qualifying. Best of the rest was the Benetton of Michael Schumacher, while Ayrton Senna claimed fourth for . There would also be a major accident for Mark Blundell at Abbey, although the Brit escaped uninjured and would be passed fit enough to take the start. The start of the race saw Hill get the jump on Prost, while Senna rocketed from fourth to second, even challenging Hill for the lead into Stowe. Prost, meanwhile, would just keep Schumacher at bay, with the rest of the field making it off the grid without issue. Hill would quickly sprint away from Senna in the early stages, building a huge lead as the Brazilian tried to keep Prost at bay. The Frenchman duly elbowed his way through on lap seven, the Williams simply quicker than the McLaren, with Schumacher following the #2 car through a few laps later. Prost subsequently went chasing off after Hill, with the pair exchanging a barrage of fastest laps before the Frenchman finally began to close the gap. However, Hill's advantage was such that the Frenchman would require some external intervention to get back on terms with his teammate, only managing to chip a tenth or so out of Hill's lead every lap. The Frenchman's wish was granted on lap 37, when Luca Badoer went flying off the circuit at Woodcote in his lowly . That accident would required the safety car to make a rare appearance, bunching the field back up and hence leaving Prost right on Hill's tail. Four laps later and the race resumed, with Hill easing clear of Prost only for an engine failure to destroy his hopes of victory a lap later. Prost duly streaked past to claim the lead, and quickly established a small advantage over the now second placed Schumacher. With that the race was run, with Prost able to cruise home a few seconds clear of Schumacher to claim his 50th career victory. Senna was set for third only to run out of fuel on the final lap, meaning Riccardo Patrese inherited the final step on the podium. Senna himself was classified down in fifth, sandwiched between Johnny Herbert and Derek Warwick. Background With half the season completed it was Alain Prost who had control of the Championship, leaving his home race with 57 points to his name. Ayrton Senna was his closest challenger, with a twelve point gap between himself and his nemesis heading into the second half of the campaign. Behind, Damon Hill was a distant third, four ahead of Michael Schumacher, while Martin Brundle completed the mid-season top five. In the Constructors Championship it was who held sway at the midpoint of the season, leaving France with 85 points. Their closest challengers were compatriots , who ventured into the second half of the campaign on 48 points, some 37 behind the leaders. Elsewhere the Ford factory backed squad were sat in a lonely third, with almost double the points of in fourth. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Senna, Fittipaldi and Brundle were still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance. *† de Cesaris was unable to be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance. Milestones * 500th Grand Prix entry for a chassis.'1993 British GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1993&gp=British%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 28/07/2019) * Riccardo Patrese entered his 250th Grand Prix. * 25th race entry for Karl Wendlinger, Ukyo Katayama and Mark Blundell. * Fiftieth career victory for Alain Prost.'9. Britain 1993', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1993/grande-bretagne.aspx, (Accessed 28/07/2019) * registered their 67th win as a constructor. ** secured their 47th victory as an engine supplier. * Damon Hill recorded his maiden fastest lap. ** First fastest lap for a car using #0 as its race number. ** This was also the 70th fastest lap recorded by a Williams chassis. Standings Victory had moved Alain Prost a daunting twenty points clear at the top of the Championship, having registered his sixth win of the season. Ayrton Senna had remained, as ever, his closest challenger, although another poor weekend by the Brazilian's standards had cost him a lot of ground. Behind, Michael Schumacher had overtaken Damon Hill for third, while Riccardo Patrese had moved up to fifth with his first podium of the season. In the Constructors Championship it had been another positive day for , who moved 45 points clear at the head of the field. Indeed, would need three one-twos on the trot, with Williams failing to score, just to get back on terms with their Anglo-French rivals. Elsewhere, had closed the gap to McLaren to just eleven points, while were back into the top five behind . Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1993 Grands Prix Category:British Grand Prix Category:Formula One races in the United Kingdom